Farm Subsidies. This vote was to adopt the final version (conference report) of the bill that would provide $8.2 billion over the next five years for increased crop insurance subsidies. Currently, the federal government pays 13 to 57 percent of crop insurance premiums, but this bill would increase that portion to a range of 38 to 67 percent of the premiums. The aim of the increase is to curtail large emergency payments. This bill also would provide for $7.1 billion in economic assistance to farmers affected by low prices. All of this aid is especially irksome since the 1996 "Freedom to Farm" law passed by Congress was supposed to wean farmers off of harmful government subsidies.
The conference report on the farm subsidies bill, H.R. 2559, passed the Senate on May 25, 2000 by a vote of 91-4 (Roll Call 115). We have assigned pluses to the nays.
